Opinion | Letters To The Editor - The Independent Florida Alligator

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Local resident celebrates death of bin Laden, calls it historic moment

By Peter Moschouris | May 11, 2011

We got him: a man whose evil changed the world and defined a young generation. He was a figurehead of evil, and he was the serpent in the garden. On that day in September, our vision of evil was changed from the likes of Captain Hook to the realities of true unforgiving atrocities. Our young generation experienced more real death and more real fear than any young person should ever have to endure. Almost ten years after his most infamous attack on innocent lives, the people who he affected most, the generation of children who lost their loved ones and lost their innocence, can celebrate for the first time in their lives.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Columnist neglects to mention serious side effects

By Frank Coxon IV | Apr. 19, 2011

I feel obligated to respond to Laura Ellermeyer’s Tuesday column on “study pills.” While I applaud her for denouncing their use, I feel she took the matter too lightly. I have ADHD and take Concerta (a form of Ritalin) and suffer the side effects she spoke of, but there are worse side effects as well. All the drugs she mentioned can cause chronic headaches (which I suffer from) as well as loss of appetite, heartburn, vomiting. And that’s just the mild symptoms. Worse symptoms include seizures, depression, heart trouble and sudden death, especially in adults with heart defects or previous heart problems. This can all be found on the PubMed Health website. There have been documented cases of children dying from a Ritalin dose their own doctor prescribed.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

LGBT community only wants equality

By Katie Faris | Apr. 17, 2011

After reading the replies to Megan Bissell’s letter, published April 13, regarding Chick-fil-A’s support of anti-gay organizations, I must say that I too am an angry lesbian. The point both Andrew Robb and Ryan Galloway seemed to miss is that the university allows a corporation to profit off a Student Body that it oppresses. A business is entitled to its “moral” convictions just as much as anyone else. However, these ideals are not consistent with the inclusive and accepting values UF espouses. It is extremely unsettling to know that my school, which insists upon cultivating a diverse student culture, continues to involve itself with a corporation that blatantly perpetuates discrimination and hate against me. UF’s seemingly indifferent attitude in regard to this matter is just as good as its consent and agreement with Chick-fil-A’s actions. How can one feel safe and comfortable on a campus that funds political causes directly targeting its students?

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Government regulation not conservative

By Chad Kimes | Apr. 17, 2011

In response to Bob Minchin’s column on Friday, I find it surprising that one who is appalled by intrusive government agencies and overbearing regulation believes government intrusion and regulation is necessary in the case of unwanted pregnancy. I guess I was wrong to assume a “true conservative” is actually conservative and not just a shill parroting the Republican party line.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Women face undue burden in child care

By Umair Asghar | Apr. 17, 2011

What is with the Bob Minchin column published on Friday? It’s like he doesn’t even try to understand what these women are going through. I will admit I am against abortions, but I at least try to understand why someone would do such a thing. How is a woman supposed to take care of a child if she gets paid a lower salary than a man? How is she supposed to take care of a child if child care costs are ridiculous? There are no American laws that give nursing women a break.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Abortion the civil rights issue of the day

By Tasya Williamson | Apr. 17, 2011

I would like to say thank you to Bob Minchin for sharing his views in Friday’s column “Abortion stance key to conservatism.” His extremely well-written dialogue not only exposes the shallow and inhumane actions of the “pro-choice” movement but also calls conservatives to act with passion and conviction.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Reader rejects abortion

By Jamie Edgerly | Apr. 14, 2011

As a woman, I seem to be continually hearing that I need to make my voice heard in regard to abortion. So here it is.If it wasn’t for my mom deciding against abortion, I wouldn’t have written this. My mom was a junior in college when she got pregnant out of wedlock. Her family was very conservative, and she attended a Christian college. Mom could have aborted me and moved on with her life. Instead, she chose to keep me. She dropped out of college and got a full-time job. My great-grandparents looked after me while she worked. I asked Mom once why she didn’t choose abortion. She told me that she hadn’t had to think about it much; life is sacred even if it’s unexpected. Because of that, my voice will be raised in a resounding “no.” No to abortion, no to running from the consequences of sex, no to ending a life before it even draws a breath. Mom was scared of being a mother, but she accepted the responsibility of raising me.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Taunting makes its way to Congress

By Paula I. Penariu | Apr. 14, 2011

Relegated primarily to elementary school playgrounds, taunting, name-calling, and insult-lobbing have made their way into the houses of Congress, according to a study released by Stanford and Harvard professors.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Veganism easier than ever

By Ryan Huling | Apr. 14, 2011

In response to your April 13 article “Downtown Cupcake Shop Serves Vegan-Friendly Fare,” I would like to thank Brittany Brave for highlighting some of the many delicious reasons to choose vegan sweets in Gainesville. Vegans have a mere fraction of the rate of heart disease, strokes, obesity and cancer that meat-eaters have, and they don’t support one of the most ecologically destructive and cruelest industries on Earth: animal agriculture.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Chick-fil-A not anti-gay

By Ryan Galloway | Apr. 13, 2011

If Megan Bissell labels herself as an angry lesbian, I’d have to label myself as a broken-hearted Christian. Why? Because it sucks that our world breeds angry people, let alone angry lesbians, and it sucks that “Christians” often have been the least compassionate of all. For that, I’m sorry. Jesus’ message was uncompromising and offensive, yet the soft-hearted flocked to Him because of His supernatural love. I regret that many “Christians” don’t follow His example.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

No one wants to be tolerated

By Andrew Robb | Apr. 13, 2011

The LGBT community doesn’t really care about tolerance. This couldn’t be any clearer after their reaction to Chick-fil-A.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Abortion came as relief from pregnancy

By Whitney Mutch | Apr. 13, 2011

I’d like to thank the Alligator for the coverage of the abortion speakout sponsored by the Gainesville chapter of National Women’s Liberation.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Columnist hits nail on the head

By Marilyn Murphy | Apr. 11, 2011

While captive in the passenger seat on a jaunt to Chiefland, I came upon Bob Minchin’s Friday column “Obama and his never-ending campaign.” It was a wonderful read, and I was kind of amazed to see such a quality work in this little college paper. I can see that there are still a few unmuddled intellects left.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Alligator apology disingenuous

By Anthony Garcia | Apr. 7, 2011

Inaccuracies and all, Tuesday’s feature about a certain math whiz did not bother me. As a daily reader, I have come to expect a certain level of flawed reporting, sensationalism and biases from your crack team at the Alligator. That, coupled with the already innocuous nature of a story about a smart student attending a university, shocking as that may be, elicited little more than a shrug from me.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Accent drops ball on school speakers this year

By Alex Kaufman | Apr. 7, 2011

Accent has a fantastic history of bringing good speakers to UF. A look through past speakers on Accent’s website has names of historic figures who have shaped history and taken their time (and UF’s money) to speak in this middle-of-nowhere place of Gainesville. The self-stated goal of Accent is to bring “prominent, controversial and influential speakers” to UF. Since I have been here, the likes of Jack Kevorkian, John Kerry (see tazing incident in school history), the Mythbusters, Bill Nye the Science Guy, Mike Rowe and John Legend have all made appearances. I can tell people I’ve heard Dr. Jack speak his crazy-ass mind after he got out of jail for euthanizing all those people or that I was there when that Meyer kid made a national storm by being a fool.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Criticism of Coach Butler’s methods without merit

By Gene Ryan | Apr. 6, 2011

Regarding the recent articles in the Alligator which, on balance, could only be considered as highly critical of your coaching job done by Lady Gators basketball coach Amanda Butler, my wife and I are longtime Gator fans, members of the Boosters Club and never miss a home game.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Columnist’s case against baseball overlooks prices, youth involvement

By Sarah Calise | Apr. 5, 2011

In response to Laura Ellermeyer’s Tuesday column on Major League Baseball’s dwindling popularity: While I absolutely agree with Laura on the grounds of the declining popularity of baseball, she has gotten many of the reasons wrong.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Football ticket price increase harms cash-strapped students

By Alex Kaufman | Apr. 5, 2011

I am not a fan of the student ticket price increase for football. Not for the amount, but for the principle.

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Merit-pay plan rewards growth

By Danny Beaulieu | Apr. 4, 2011

I would like to respond to a portion of Chad Mohammed’s Thursday column in which he said, “The merit-pay plan is flawed and simply will reward teachers for teaching in areas with students of higher socioeconomic status and punish those who teach students of lower socioeconomic standings.”

OPINION | LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Both sides should seek forgiveness for murders

By Joe Bialek Cleveland | Apr. 3, 2011

This letter is in response to the articles covering the deadly protest in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, which appear to be a result of the antics of the Dove World Outreach Center’s Terry Jones.